Saturday Afternoon in Fairfax and Swell Soap

Today we rode out to Fairfax to check out the Good Festival and the local color (Fairfax is consistently colorful and good for people watching), get some exercise, and enjoy a sunny afternoon outside. After locking the bikes up and happening upon the Jerry Garcia Memorial, we walked down Bolinas and had fun checking out the local shops. Then it was time for some coffee at the Fairfax Coffee Roastery (which was “the office” our first three days in Marin, while searching for the perfect apartment) and back up the other side of Bolinas to do more window shopping.

One of my favorite shops along that stretch is The Potting Shed. It’s charming from the outside, with its bleached-out wood siding, and the birdhouses made of old license plates are fun (Christmas present hint to Santa.) When we walked into the side structure, an “out building” with pea gravel ground, I immediately felt “calm and uplifted.” And after a few moments of walking around, I found the source of that good vibe: big bunches of lavender stacked high on a table – YUM. They have quite a few really unique plants (ones I’ve never seen anywhere else), all artfully placed in nice handmade clay pots.

At the festival I was drawn to the handmade soap table (a guilty pleasure I will indulge until The Foust/LaRue Workshop starts making our own.) We enjoyed chatting with Aja, co-owner of Swell Soaps with her husband, Billy, and bought a mini bar to try. What a great idea: mini bars for $1 each.  Some great uses for them: traveling; stocking stuffers; guest bathrooms; hostess, etc gifts.  (They also offer 2oz and 4oz versions.)

We chose ‘Easy As Pie’.  It’s a blend of organic: extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, palm kernel oil, coconut milk, rice & tapioca flours (natural exfoliant), vanilla absolute and cardamom. I’ve been using it on my face the past few nights and really loving it. That little bar produces more lather than just about any other soap I’ve used. It smells delicate and sweet and leaves my skin clean feeling but not at all dry – the magic combination!

I’m wishing we had bought one of each of their “flavors” to try. The good news is that we can find them at the Thursday Downtown San Rafael Farmer’s Market, some shops in Mill Valley (home base for the business), and most likely at the Sunday Marin Farmer’s Market later this year (they just completed the lengthy application process.) Any time we can choose handmade products we are happy. Buying directly from the artisans who handcrafted those products, and did so using natural and organic ingredients, is triple icing on the cake. Congratulations to Aja and Billy, for producing some swell soap (couldn’t resist) and helping us to Shop Local.